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Crystal Cove Alliance Debuts New Approach for Engaging Students and Protecting Open Spaces in a California State Park

NEWPORT COAST, Calif. --(Business Wire)--

On Feb. 1, the innovative Berns Environmental Study Loop (ESL) opened at Crystal
Cove State Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Crystal
Cove Alliance (CCA) and officiated by Major General Anthony Jackson,
Director of California State Parks.

Dana Hills High School students use trapcams to study bobcat movement at the Berns Environmental Study Loop at Crystal Cove Stte Park, a new 'citizen science' approach funded by Crystal Cove Alliance. (Photo: Business Wire)

Part of a 35-acre restoration, the ESL features an amphitheater, fire
pit, student staging pavilion and half-mile loop trail with eight mini
"citizen science" stations. Teachers and students can enjoy field trips
as part of the park's "research and monitoring" team, while general park
visitors can participate in campfire programs, junior ranger courses and
guided study walks, all with a citizen science component.

The ESL is a place where Braille Institute students use heightened
listening skills to monitor threatened bird populations, where local
fifth graders can work alongside University of California Irvine
scientists studying water's role in the park's ecosystem and where Dana
Hills High School students deploy special research cameras to study
bobcat movement.

"The citizen science programs address the national STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) literacy crisis with unique programs
that immerse students in the science behind park management," explained
Harry Helling, President of CCA. "Since California has 280 parks that
preserve vast amounts of natural resources, this approach has the
potential to strengthen the relationship statewide between State Parks
and students."

The public-private partnership between California State Parks and CCA
allowed for innovation which, in turn attracted a $1M donation from
private funds-the largest ever for education in a State Park-to fund
capital costs and, another first, establish a supporting endowment. With
this new model comes the possibility for broader outcomes to
simultaneously address future conservation and education needs.

About Crystal Cove Alliance

Crystal Cove Alliance (CCA), the official nonprofit partner of Crystal
Cove State Park, is dedicated to preserving the cultural, natural and
historic resources of Crystal Cove. Founded in 1999 by Laura Davick to
stop a planned luxury resort from overtaking the area, CCA rescued the
historic site and initiated one of the most successful public-private
partnership models in the history of the California State Park system.